Govt plans to double farm exports by ’22 to gain trade lead over China

NEW DELHI: In line with the “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, or selfreliant India, stance spelt out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recent weeks, India aims to double farm exports from US$ 30 billion now to US$ 60 billion by 2022, scout new markets hit by Covid-19, and put China at a disadvantage in bilateral farm trade, according to details of consultations to “recalibrate” the country’s agriculture trade policy set in 2018.

An interministerial assessment last week showed there’s room to export more to the US, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, South

Korea, Malaysia, Iran, and to China and its rival Taiwan, an official familiar with the developments said. “Having invoked three Ordinances this month to liberalise the farm sector, it’s time to scout for new markets and boost exports. India is an agricultural powerhouse. Good export can help achieve doubling of farm incomes, a target set by the PM,” the official said. New export hubs for horticultural produce will be opened in smaller cities as part of the strategy to provide direct global access to local farmers, according to the plan being discussed, he added.

The country has got market access for 35 agricultural products with eight countries this month. It will send out a few more over the course of the next few months, according to the plan.

India has a trade surplus with China when it comes to farm produce; in other words, the country sells more commodities, in value terms, to China than it buys from the neighbour. “The aim is to widen this gap to India’s advantage,” the official said. As a rule, as economies become developed, they sell more and more highvalue manufactured items rather than farm-based products.

In 2018-19, India’s total agribased exports to China, from raw cotton to shrimps, stood at US$ 1.9bn, a rise of 117% over the previous year. In the same year, India’s total agricultural imports from the neighbour was $282 million. India framed a national agriculture trade policy for the first time in 2018. Officials said this policy needs to be retuned because of the global impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to changes being proposed, while India aims to export more farm produce to China, it will cut down on some.

Officials have identified 11 farm-based items which China imports from other trading partners, which India also has the potential to export. These items will be put in so-called “potential exports to China” category, including maize, tobacco, tamarind, broken rice, coffee, cashew and pre-cooked meals.